Titans down Bulldogs

CANTERBURY full-back Ben Barba enhanced his State of Origin selection hopes with a dynamic performance against Gold Coast Titans but it was not enough to prevent the Bulldogs going down 25-14 in Brisbane on Friday night.

Barba, seeking to win the vacant utility spot on the bench for Queensland when the Maroons announce their squad on Monday night, scored two tries and pulled off a try-saving tackle on giant centre Jamal Idris, who played strongly against his former club.

But it was the Titans who produced a stunning upset in the second match of a double header at Lang Park, only their third win of the season, with Idris scoring a barnstorming 53rd-minute try.

To compound Canterbury's misery, prop Sam Kasiano was placed on report for a brutal shoulder charge on Luke O'Dwyer which left the Titans utility seeing stars while key back-rower David Stagg limped from the field in the 51st minute with a suspected ankle injury.

Gold Coast talisman Scott Prince, making his comeback from a biceps injury, scored a first-half try from an O'Dwyer popped pass and sent up a towering bomb for Mark Minichiello to touch down in the 55th minute, giving the Coast a 20-10 lead.